ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers topple Titans, Limerick Celtics go clear at the top and Abbey Seals Dublin Lions deliver in derby

ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers made it five wins from as many games in the Men’s Division One, as they ended Titans’ unbeaten start to the season with an emphatic 101-70 victory in St. Mary’s Hall on Saturday evening, keeping themselves hot on the heels of Limerick Celtics, who went clear at the top following their 98-89 success over Carrick Cruisers in Crescent College. In the only Women’s Division One fixture at the weekend, Abbey Seals Dublin Lions fended off a tenacious Templeogue to record an 89-68 derby victory in Coláiste Bríde. 

ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers laid down a real marker after they stopped cold, Titans’ unbeaten start to the 2024/25 Men’s Division One season, while extending their own to five games following a comprehensive 101-70 victory over their Galway rivals in St. Mary’s Hall on Saturday evening.

The homeside quickly stamped their authority on this game, amassing 50 points with just over 14 minutes played, and they refused to take their foot off the pedal, Eric Anderson, with 24 points, the most prolific of the five players who finished in double digits for the team.

Michael Hayes worked hard to try and ignite some semblance of a comeback for Titans, putting up a game-high 26 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, but it was not nearly enough to trouble Portlaoise, for whom James Phelan and Liam Kinsella added a combined 26 points.

“We feel that we have a squad that, when we play at the tempo we did in the first half, teams will find it very hard to live with us, especially with the bench and the rotation that we have” Portlaoise head coach, Jack Scully said after his side’s victory.

“We had 50 points after 14-and-a half minutes of play and you can’t beg for any more.

“In terms of an overall performance, there are still things we need to work on, but we’re absolutely delighted with the win.

“We need to forget about it now as we head into a tough couple of games with Drogheda away twice, including a cup game” he said.

Limerick Celtics held on to their unbeaten record to go three points clear at the top of Division One, as they ran out 98-89 winners over Carrick Cruisers in Crescent College.

Ariyon Williams nailed six of his nine efforts from outside the arc on his way to a game high 34 points, while Abdul Wurie weighed in with a further 23, as Limerick took their divisional record to 6 and 0, despite Cruisers recouping eight points in the final quarter with the aid of Benyi Gomez who chalked up 31 on the night.

Moy Tolka Rovers and Scotts Lakers Killarney lead the chase after they both chalked up narrow wins on Saturday night to go 5-1 in the table.

The former had just two points to spare against a Tipp Talons outfit, still in search of their first win of the season, edging their encounter in Tolka Rovers Sports Complex 76-74.

The visitors pressed the all the way with Justin Wickham’s late deuce taking them to within a bucket of their Dublin rivals with 14 seconds remaining.

But they were unable to close the gap, Tolka holding out for a win, in which Emiliyan Grudov and Daniel Ayoade contributed a total of 41 points, with Elijah Faapito weighing in with a further 12 and 10 rebounds.

Scotts Lakers Killarney worked their way back from eight points down early in the third quarter to clinch an 86-83 win on the road against Drogheda Wolves.

While Christian Simmons had a big night for the hosts with 29 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, Killarney saw their own big hitters deliver too, as Mikah Blackwell top scored on 30 points, while Eoin Carroll put up a further 20, the two also combining for 22 rebounds on the night.

Team NorthWest returned home from Carrickpherish Hall celebrating a 75-73 comeback win over SETU Waterford Vikings.

The visitors were 10 points down early in the third, but a big 31-point haul by Tyler Mutemasango, coupled with Shakeil Bertrand’s 17 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists, went a long way to seeing them storm back for the win over Waterford, for whom Aaron Jackson and James Aboaba totalled 50 points.

Ulster University fought back from seven points down in the second quarter to card an emphatic 102-79 triumph over Killarney Cougars in Jordanstown Sports Village.

Despite a 30-point contribution from Kani Glover, the visitors were unable to stop Ulster from storming back for an emphatic victory, Curtis Larousse enjoying a big night with 24 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists.

It was a much closer affair between Maigh Cuilinn and Mater Private Malahide, the Dublin side producing a stunning recovery to record a 76-71 overtime victory in University of Galway Kingfisher on Saturday.

Finding themselves 17 points adrift of their hosts three minutes into the third quarter, Malahide fought back to level the game at 62 points apiece before completing their comeback in overtime.

Romonn Nelson bagged seven points over the additional five minutes for the visitors, taking his game tally to 26 that went some way to unhinging their Galway rivals, who relied heavily on Grant Olsson and the huge 39 points and 20 rebounds he bagged on the night.

Limerick Sport Eagles were another team to surpass the century mark, running out 109-82 winners over Joels Dublin Lions in UL Arena.

Alexander Carlisle, with a game-high 33 points, was the most prolific of the five players to finish in double digits for Limerick, while it was Aidan Igiehon who again spearheaded Dublin Lions’ challenge with 30 points and 11 rebounds.

In what was the only Women’s Division One fixture during this week’s international window, Abbey Seals Dublin Lions went joint second in the table with iSecure Swords Thunder following their 89-68 victory over Templeogue in Coláiste Bríde.

A very slow start to this game would prove costly for Templeogue as they were outscored by 17 in the first quarter, and while they managed to recoup 11 in the third, they could not close the gap on their neighbouring rivals.

Both sides recorded a good spread of scoring with Lions seeing five players in double figures, including top scorer Sofia Paska on 19, while Hannah Byrne led the charge for Templeogue with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but even that was not enough to inspire a recovery.

“I thought we started the game really well, our defensive intensity was superb and we executed superbly the other end” remarked Dublin Lions head coach, Martin Conroy.

“We played awesome team basketball in the first half, but credit to Templeogue for the way they came out firing in the third quarter.

“They got it down to six points at one stage and it took a massive effort from our players to stretch the lead back out and give us the result we wanted” he said.